I have a 5 year old Series 2 that I have hooked to a SD Directv box. I would have done the same with the premiere but it wasn't compatible. I take it that nothing has changed with the Romio?

Click to expand...

The only things compatible with DirecTV are those that DirecTV wants to be compatible. Currently that is the DirecTV provided THR-22 DVR with TiVo service. That device is neither a Premiere, Roamio, or Genie, but it does give you a nice Series 2 to 3 TiVo interface. Somehow I don't see DirecTV commissioning TiVo to provide Roamio like box for them that would not be compatible with the Genie product line. Nothing TiVo can do will change this. Satellite companies are completely free to legally keep everyone else's hardware off their networks. The cable card rules do not apply to them.

The THR-22 is a complete joke. DirecTV doesn't want TiVo, which sucks. However, I can see why they would want top to bottom control over releasing updates and the like... And even if DirecTV gave them access to their satellite system, the hardware would be big bucks to build for a relatively small market. Satellite stuff is more complicated than cable, even with CableCard.

I don't agree. The THR22 provides HR10 functionality with a (very) few extras. It works just fine for that. If you were expecting parity with 2012 TiVos, then I could understand your disappointment, but that was never promised.

I don't agree. The THR22 provides HR10 functionality with a (very) few extras. It works just fine for that. If you were expecting parity with 2012 TiVos, then I could understand your disappointment, but that was never promised.

Click to expand...

The problem is, the market has evolved a LOT from the time of the HR10-250. You just can't ignore the Genie and it's thin clients and whole-home functionality when looking at the THR-22. The THR-22 is utterly useless, as you may as well just get the Genie and clients, which do everything the THR-22 does and WAY more. The THR-22 is a complete joke, and DirecTV knows it. No one in their right mind would actually get that POS when they could have a Genie.

My wife would disagree with you. The THR22 does everything she wants. Not everyone cares about multiple TVs, On Demand and apps.

Click to expand...

Even if you only have one TV (highly unusual situation), the Genie is still a far better box in every way. Why have two tuners when you can have 5? Simply said, the THR-22 is an absolute piece of garbage, and anyone who gets one is nuts. It has no use case. DirecTV has made the path forward clear. If you don't like it, switch to cable or OTA.

Sorry, I forgot it is OK to express your personal opinions as crude insults.

Click to expand...

No matter how you rack up the comparison, the THR-22 is going to LOSE and LOSE BIG to either the DirecTV Genie or the 4- and 6-tuner CableCard TiVos, and their respective client boxes. Time has passed that limited set of functionality by. That's not my opinion, that's what the facts say. There is no benefit to the THR-22. The Genie does everything it does, plus tons more. Like, oh, working in a household with more than one TV, like most American households. Or having 5 tuners. Which could be useful even if you only have one TV. And having DirecTV On Demand.

No matter how you rack up the comparison, the THR-22 is going to LOSE and LOSE BIG to either the DirecTV Genie or the 4- and 6-tuner CableCard TiVos, and their respective client boxes. Time has passed that limited set of functionality by. That's not my opinion, that's what the facts say. There is no benefit to the THR-22. The Genie does everything it does, plus tons more. Like, oh, working in a household with more than one TV, like most American households. Or having 5 tuners. Which could be useful even if you only have one TV. And having DirecTV On Demand.

Click to expand...

Who cares? If someone is happy, they can be happy. It has zero impact on you or anyone else.

From what I've seen the THR-22 is basically like a S3 for DirecTV. I still know a LOT of people who are happily using S3 units. Not everyone needs all the whizbang whole house streaming features of the more modern DVRs.

From what I've seen the THR-22 is basically like a S3 for DirecTV. I still know a LOT of people who are happily using S3 units. Not everyone needs all the whizbang whole house streaming features of the more modern DVRs.

Click to expand...

The S3's have multi-room capability (excepting HBO or just about anything on TWC). Also, it's one thing if you already own an S3 that's a few years old, it's lifetimed, and you keep it. It's a whole different thing to pay top dollar for an outdated, crippled piece of sh*t when you can get the far superior DirecTV DVR for the same price.

I wonder how much of that is TiVo's fault and how much is DirecTVs? That DirecTiVo was in development for like 2-3 years before it was finally released. I wonder if DirecTV drug their feet while TiVo's technology passed them by?

If we ever see anything like AllVid come to pass then TiVo will be able to release consumer DVRs for all providers just like they have for cable now.

From what I've seen the THR-22 is basically like a S3 for DirecTV. I still know a LOT of people who are happily using S3 units. Not everyone needs all the whizbang whole house streaming features of the more modern DVRs.

Click to expand...

People were happily using S3 units because the S4 was that bad. However, Roamio Plus and Pro would be the peer to Genie.

AllVid is never coming to pass. It's amazing how quickly the steam was knocked out of that idea.

However, I agree totally with the criticisms of the THR-22. It is a diminished S3 product introduced AFTER the S4 hit the shelves, and the THR-22 is further diminished because it lacks many of the GREAT features including MRV found in retail S3's and OTT options just to name a few. Let's not not become jingoistic just because we may be TiVo fanboys. The THR-22 is only appealing to the most ardent TiVo enthusiasts who simply must have the little TiVo critter and nothing else, and I think the harsh criticism from some is that TiVo enthusiasts deserved better from DirecTV.

Which brings us to the point that it was all DirecTV's doing, NOT TiVo's. The agreement between TiVo and DirecTV was at a time when TiVo was most desperate and exceedingly desperate to get TiVo as part of MSO offerings (TiVo was not in the great financial shape it is today and it seemed the ship was sinking, hence the lawsuits), and TiVo had just filed suit against Echostar (Since split into Dish Corp and Echostar Corp) the company providing the then branded Dish Network service who at the time had by far the most DVR's in homes (that was the REAL reason Echostar was the first in a long line of MVPD's to be sued. Further Tom Rogers stated clearly that any MVPD who was not interested in developing a TiVo product was going to be sued for patent infringment. BTW, Ergen and Rogers are still freinds).

TiVo approached DirecTV, as they did EVERYONE else, but DirecTV would only agree to a TiVo product if TiVo put in the contract that TiVo would NOT sue DirecTV for patent infringement. TiVo agreed and that was the beginning of DirecTV jerking TiVo around for a very long time. Mike White even poo-pooed the then coming DircTiVo product in the quarterly conference calls saying the current DirecTV boxes do the same things and coming products would do more than the TiVo and have greater value and . . . This is how one talks about their partner?

DirecTV slowed it all down for as long as they could without causing TiVo to sue for breach of contract, but TiVo wouldn't DARE sue for breach of contract (it had already agreed NOT to sue for patent infringements) because DirecTV was the ONLY MVPD at that time who was co-developing a TiVo product. TiVo had already invested, one could say emotionally, in the THR-22 and couldn't bear to just give up and sue DirecTV for breach (an expensive and lengthy process with no return for years, and TiVo needed money even more as the huge cost of suing Echostar was draining their cash and caused losses instead of profits for some quarters) when TiVo could see the light at the end of the DirecTV tunnel for years and repeated delays of launch, as if Mike White were dangling it in front of Tom Rogers.

Nope, DirecTV is done with TiVo, and TiVo can't sue DirecTV for patent infringement, so it's over. We're saying that it would have been sweet and a far more compelling product if the THR-22 had been based on the S4 (which it could have been) as the DircTiVo swan song.